1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a device casing wherein a pair of casing components are foldably arranged such that electronic parts stored in the casing components are electrically connected by a flexible connection member.
2. Description of the Related Art
A foldable small-sized electronic device such as a portable electronic calculator is known. In such an electronic device, a device casing made of synthetic resin comprises a pair of casing components coupled by a hinge. For example, in the case of an electronic calculator, various electronic parts such as a keyboard, a circuit board, a liquid crystal display panel, etc., are separately stored in the casing components. The electronic parts stored in the casing components are electrically connected with one another by a flexible connection member.
A conventional coupling structure used in the above foldable electronic device is constituted by cylindrical hinge components provided at both ends of each of facing side portions of the casing components, and hinge pins rotatably inserted into shaft holes of the cylindrical hinge component. In this case, each casing components is rotatable about the hinge pins inserted into the hinge components provided at both ends of each casing component. When the casing components are opened, the device is set in the state for use. On the other hand, when the casing components are closed, the device is set in the non-use state.
In the conventional device casing using the abovementioned hinge, however, the connection member is exposed to the outside, both in the case where the casing components are opened for use and in the case where the casing components are closed for non-use. Thus, the external appearance of the device is not good. In addition, the connection member easily suffers external damage, and may be broken.
The connection member is bent in accordance with the angle of rotation of the casing components. In the conventional structure, the angle of bending of the connection member is nearly equal to the angle of rotation of the casing components. If the casing components are rotated by 180.degree., the connection member is also rotated about 180.degree.. Thus, the angle of bending of the connection member is considerably large, resulting in the problem that the fatigue of the connection member due to repeated bending caused by the opening/closing of the casing components is large, and the durability of the connection member is low.